Topic: Wells Fargo

While investment firm Wells Fargo Securities believes Apple and its newly released iPhone 7 Plus will benefit from the discontinuation of the dangerous Galaxy Note 7, it also believes that the greatest potential for gains could be non-Samsung Android handsets.

Apple has historically added an extra week to its December quarter when the 31st of the month falls on a Saturday -- which it does again this year. That extra time could add 3 million iPhone sales to the three-month period, one analyst has predicted.

Ahead of its June quarter earnings report next week, a number of factors have put Apple in a position to exceed investor expectations, making it a good time to buy into the company's stock, one analyst believes.

Analysts on Wall Street were pushing optimism after Apple's disappointing fiscal 2016 second quarter earnings, saying they expect that the company will continue to innovate and will return to growth over the next year.

With Apple set to report its first-ever year-over-year decline in iPhone sales this afternoon, analysts continue to look forward to the anticipated "iPhone 7" launch in hopes that it will re-stimulate growth.

Though Apple had a respectable December quarter, the company's outlook for the following three months calls for iPhone sales to decline for the first time ever. Analysts on Wall Street responded by trimming their price targets, though most still believe investors should buy in.

The price of of Apple stock has been driven lower by concerns over demand for the iPhone 6s lineup, dropping near $100 per share in early trading on Wednesday as investment firm Wells Fargo Securities cut its own outlook, predicting a short-term "road bump" before a return to growth.

With more than 13 million units sold in the first three days of availability, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus exceeded most market expectations, and analysts responded on Monday by reacting favorably to the announcement from Apple.

There's a feeling on Wall Street that everything is already known and expected heading into Apple's "Hey Siri" event, investment firm Wells Fargo said on Friday, suggesting that any potential surprises could help push the company's stock higher.

Longtime Apple bear Wells Fargo Securities changed its rating on the iPhone maker on Tuesday, saying recent losses in the company's stock have been overdone, especially in light of the company's continued success in China.

Analyst sentiment is generally high ahead of Apple's third-quarter earnings announcement -- due on Tuesday -- calling for numbers that could beat both official guidance as well as Wall Street consensus, mostly on the strength of iPhone sales that could near or top 50 million.

While the $6.5 billion bond issue revealed on Monday may be enough to cover its existing capital return program, Wells Fargo believes that Apple could be forced to either raise an additional round of debt or repatriate cash from overseas if the program is to continue its traditional annual increase.

Apple's stunning first quarter of fiscal 2015 blew virtually every prediction out of the water, and left Wall Street analysts rushing to increase their price targets on Wednesday as the stock jumped higher.

Wells Fargo Securities continues to go against the grain with a neutral "market perform" rating on shares of Apple, forecasting that shares will trend lower in the face of high expectations on Wall Street.

Availability of the iPhone continues to increase as Apple inks new contracts with additional carriers, bringing its current worldwide total to 323 wireless providers, investment firm Wells Fargo Securities revealed on Friday.